Treat patients in ambulances - MP

More patients should be treated in the back of ambulances rather than taken to hospital, MPs have heard.

Conservative backbencher Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) said the approach would benefit people requiring emergency treatment in hospital as it would make better use of ambulance services.

The Commons health committee member is a community first responder, a role which allows trained volunteers to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service and provide care until the ambulance arrives.

Concerns over ambulance handover times at accident and emergency departments have been raised around the country.

Dame Barbara Hakin, chief operating officer of NHS England, admitted to MPs in December that the NHS has a “significant problem” with ambulances queuing at A&Es.

She was answering accusations that ambulances are “stacked outside A&E departments like planes”.

Speaking during health questions, Mr Percy told health minister Dan Poulter: “Isn’t it the case we could make better use of our ambulance services to increase the benefits to those requiring emergency admissions by ensuring that they can convey less patients and provide more care from the back of the ambulance - and that probably also requires tariff reform?”

Dr Poulter replied: “You are absolutely right in highlighting that we have many other parts of the medical and healthcare workforce who can contribute to delivering high quality care, and paramedics offer an opportunity to do that.

“And as part of our refresh of the Health Education England mandate we will be looking into exactly how we can take these matters forward in the next months and years.”

Figures released last week showed the number of delays in ambulances being able to hand over patients to A&E was 5,234 between 2 and 8 January.

Over Christmas week, from 24 December to 1 January, the figure was 4,937. These were delays of more than 30 minutes.

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